As we stand on the verge.....

Chris Matthews said tonight, "I'm getting that Christmas Eve feeling." I am getting that night before the BIG exam feeling, that night before surgery feeling, the anticipation of a good outcome if I can only make it through a difficult challenge, the promise of the reward that will make me forget the trials endured to achieve it. Anxiety washes over me when I remember how elections have been stolen in the past, and the dread of the consequences if the polls prove wrong. My nebulous angst about the election in general is translating into doubts about my ability to manage the task at hand tomorrow. It will fall to me to keep the voters lined up in such a way that the sight of them waiting will not discourage other voters from joining the line. I will have to be the resource person for people who can't find a place to park, or don't think they can stand in line that long. My job is to keep them happy; my job is to keep them there. It's going to be a long, long day.

I don't believe I have ever cared so much about the outcome of a presidential election. I started this journey last autumn when I began to read The Audacity of Hope. Now, nearly a year later, I have experienced the overwhelming presence of the man himself. The sheer energy, determination, intellect and yes, love that emanates from him is indescribable. I would not have believed that I would ever stand in a line that was more than a mile long to hear anyone speak, but I did and I would do it again. "With a righteous wind at our backs," we can change course. There is absolution, after all. I must remember that tomorrow night, no matter the outcome. The hope is real. The possibility for redemption is real. The time is now.